CJC 101 - Chapter 5

Discretion

the authority to decide what should be done

Why Give the Police Discretion?

Profession: “trustworthy” & “honest”

Training & Experience: knowledge about human behavior

Subjective Factors

Beliefs: increase or decrease in lenient towards those “like us”

Nature of the Act: video game v. bread

Offender Attitude: “What’s wrong, pig?” v. “I’m so sorry, officer”

Victim-Offender Relationship: bar argument v. family holiday argument

Objective Factors

Policy: guiding principles in specific situations must be flexible & specific

Militaristic PD Structure: delegation of authority down to patrol officers, but responsible to immediate supervisor

Purpose for Police Patrol

Visible PD presence to deter crime

Public order maintenance & sense of community “safety”

provision of public (non-crime) services

Police Activities

15% of day: officer initiated activities (pedestrian stops)

85% of day: other (preventative patrol, calls for service, administrative duties)

Calls for Service

Incident-driven policing driven by “calls for service”

Response time is the benchmark of efficiency

Standard 911 cannot use GPS

Kanas City Preventative Patrol Experiment

No significant effect on crime or perceptions of disorder

Predictive, Intelligence-Led, & Hot Spots Policing

Anticipate future crime, based on past patterns of crime

By focusing on high crime areas there was a decrease in crime and in perceptions of disorder

Broken Windows Theory (visible signs of disorder foster crime)

Community-Oriented Policing (COPS)

Community-PD partnerships

Community engagement to address crime & fear

Proactive problem solving & prevention

Modest but promising outcomes

Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS)

Fully implemented in 1994

Permanent officer beat assignments

Decreased physical decay, gang/drug activity, & area crime rates

Increased citizen attitudes & perceptions of CPD

Police Subculture

Shared values & perceptions

Learned through the process of socialization & shared risky experiences

Problems of Police Subculture

Police Isolation

Mistrust & frustration with public

Loss of respect for the law

rejection of the ideal of truth & justice

Blue Code of Silence Names

Blue curtain, thin blue line, blue shield, and blue wall

Blue Code of Silence

Us v. Them mentality

Peers above public

Unwillingness to report misconduct

Reasonable Force

Degree of force appropriate to protect officer & others

Based on citizen/arrestee non-/compliance

Deadly Force

Force likely or intended to cause death

Use of Force Model

Continuum of proper force

CPD: outlines ineffective, ideal, & excessive force

Threat and Use of Force in America

14% resulted in arrestee injury

~700 arrestee deaths/year

Less-than-lethal force

Used in 15-20% of all arrests

Pepper spray & tasers are most promising for decrease in injury